Massachusetts’ biggest Kickstarter campaigns

Kickstarter is a website pulsing with great ideas and people willing to back them with their money in exchange for a piece of the pie (like a T-shirt, postcard, or the product itself). More than 2.5 million people pledged about $350 million on the website to fund more than 30,000 creative projects since April 2009. A lot of those innovations have come from Massachusetts, though not all have been as successful as others.

Although many would base success on the number of dollars raised in a campaign, we realize that many projects ask for a lot more money than others. So we have based this list on the number of backers, or people who supported the project, then looked at where they are now, whether they are still perfecting the design, trying to create enough products to send out, or working on another great idea. Have we missed any awesome projects? Which is your favorite? Please let us know by e-mailing us at hive@boston.com.
Next

The product is a highly efficient processor that can work like a fancy desktop computer. But rather than using 100 watts or more of power, Parallella needs only 5 watts. It will cost about $100, but is mostly geared toward sophisticated computer users, such as scientists, researchers, and developers. The Globe’s technology reporter, Hiawatha Bray, wrote about the startup in December. “The “computer” is really just a bare-bones circuit board about the size of a credit card, with connectors for a keyboard, hard drive, and network connection,” he wrote.

Twine is a 2.5-inch square containing two AA batteries that run for months. Twine can be set up with several sensors to detect moisture, temperature, or its physical orientation. Without needing to be programmed, it then uses its own internal Wi-Fi to alert you via e-mail, text, Twitter, or other methods, if the front door is opened, your basement is flooded, or what the temperature is outside your house.

The startup, which began at MIT’s Media Lab and rented office space at the Globe during the Kickstarter campaign, has since moved to Austin, Texas. According to the company’s Facebook page, it started shipping the products in late September. Soon after the Kickstarter campaign ended, Boston.com’s Innovation Economy blogger, Scott Kirsner, wrote about it: “Combined with pre-orders placed through Supermechanical’s website, [one of the founders] says they’ll be making more than 5,000 Twine devices in their first run.” Now that they’re in the groove, Supermechanical is starting to sell its product on Amazon.com, though in early January it appeared they were out of stock.
Next

About the size of an HDMI stick with the capacity of an Android tablet, the $69 Equiso Smart TV plugs directly into any television with an HDMI port. Viewers then use a controller similar to a Wii remote with a keyboard on the back to play games such as Angry Birds on the TV or stream television shows and movies. Watch a demo from Time Magazine's website here. The technology is also being sold on Amazon.com, with limited supply.

Although the Kickstarter campaign was very successful, more than doubling its goal of $100,000, users complained that it had too many bugs. “As it stands, the Equiso works, but not well enough for me to recommend buying it,” wrote Dylan Love, from Business Insider back in October. “We’ll revisit the device once it gets the software update that it needs.”

Developed in a graduate product design course at MIT, Sprout is a cedar-body pencil that can be planted when it is too short to write with and then grows into a variety of flowers, herbs, or vegetables when it gets wet.

Backers from Kickstarter were sent their pencils in October and though normal packs are not yet available, wholesale and customized packs of the products can be ordered on the company’s website.
Next

The relatively inexpensive, high-resolution 3D printer that can sit on a desk was made by Formlabs, which started out at the MIT Media Lab in 2011. While normal 3D printers have cost upward of $10,000, this one goes for about $3,000 and is geared toward architects and product designers. “Thanks to Sony developing Blu-ray DVD players, we’re able to use a $10 laser in the printer instead of a $10,000 laser,” one of the owners told Boston.com blogger Scott Kirsner, who published a story in the Globe in Sept. 2012 about how Formlabs is changing the face of the industry. “The printer resembles a prop designed for a J.J. Abrams sci-fi film,” he wrote.

“The Form 1 may be the first low-cost 3-D printer that allows people to focus on developing their product, instead of fussing over the production process,” wrote Joseph Flaherty, of Wired Magazine in Sept. 2012.

A stainless-steel utility tool that is the size of a credit card and is safe for airport security was made by a local innovator and is now available for sale at just $12.

The one-millimeter-thick tool can act as a phone kickstand when used with a credit card, and can stand alone as a bottle opener, a door-latch slip, ruler, letter-opener, and orange-peeler. It also has three screwdrivers and works as a wrench for three bolt sizes.

Based on the feedback on Kickstarter, it looks like creator Nate Burr had some holdups in the shipping process.
Next

The $200 Geode is an iPhone accessory and program that is meant to replace your wallet. The program stores loyalty, membership, and credit card information so that they don’t need to be carried around. It requires a fingerprint match to be used, and when needed to cash something out, the user can take out a GeoCard from the case on the back of the phone that will temporarily be programmed with the credit or debit card data and then swiped at any retailer. It also has a barcode display on the back for any loyalty or membership cards that require a scan.

iCashe started out in Cambridge in 2007 but even though it still has employees in the area, it has since moved its headquarters down to South Carolina. It was also recognized at the non-rofit CTIA Wireless Association emerging technology awards in May. The product was given first place for both mobile commerce shopping and rewards, as well as for mobile consumer electronics assessors.

Although the campaign was a success from the company’s perspective, more than 1,700 customers expressed outrage on the company’s page because they either did not receive the product at all or reported that it was defective and nothing was done about it. Kirsner wrote a story in December about this and other failed projects on Kickstarter.
Next

A part of the Public Laboratory for Open Technologies and Science, this campaign has found a way to make spectrometer, which helps identify different substances by shining light through them, for a fraction of its normal cost. “We imagine a kind of “SHAZAM for materials” which can help to investigate chemical spills, diagnose crop diseases, identify contaminants in household products, and even analyze olive oil, coffee, and homebrew beer,” the researchers wrote on the kickstarter page. It made more than 10 times its funding goal and has been working to try and perfect the technology. It also has two kits available, for $40 or for $10 on its website.
Next

This group of about 20 roboticists, engineers, designers, and fabricators got together for an open-source robotics project that will build a 4,000-pound, 18-foot diameter, 6-legged robot that they can ride on. The project is still in the works and in an update on Dec. 18, they posted a video reporting the project’s first prototype leg movements.
Next

To improve the quality of sound coming out of your iPhone or another listening device, David Laituri has come up with a powerful Bluetooth sound system that is wrapped in a hand-crafted wooden cube. Backers gave a lot of positive feedback after receiving theirs and Laituri is now selling the devices on his website for about $120 each.
Next

Cyclists are fighting back against thieves and aggressive drivers. After their friend’s bike light was stolen one night, he was hurt while riding home and MIT grads and Batman-fans, Brad Geswein and Slava Menn, came up with a solution. They invented an aluminum, super-bright LED bike lite powered by standard AA batteries to last 100 hours and very difficult to steal. The creators had a bit of a hold-up with shipping out to its backers, but other than that, people responded with good reviews on their new lights. The pair are now selling their lights online for between $59 and $70 and report that they have about 2,000 customers. Next

The pocket-sized lighting studio was designed to be controlled by an iPhone had more then 1,000 backers and surpassed its funding goal by nearly $100,000. However, the estimated delivery date, which was scheduled for October, has now been pushed back until at least February, the creators wrote on its website to streams of angry backers.
Next

Making an elevator pitch to Kickstarter while skydiving? The creators of Forsake have made a comfortable waterproof line of shoes that won’t get destroyed so easily. Although their first campaign didn’t match its goal, the second time was a charm and the pair had more than 1,000 backers, most with good feedback.
Back to the beginning